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Q J Med 2002; 95: 131-132
© 2002 Association of Physicians

Biologic

Nonsense and non-science

Colin Berry

With the MMR debacle fresh in our minds, and with the collapse of Railtrack reflecting a ludicrously over-protective posture with regard to risk, it is worth examining the place of science in determining public attitudes to the hazards that apparently beset us in both medical practice and daily life.

Dr Spock is a caricature not because of his ears but because of his insistence on logical behaviour. In applying a consistent and considered approach to problems, he marks himself off from the rest of us—as Hume said, ‘logic is a suit of clothes that Man puts on for special occasions’. Most people becomes aware of the inconsistencies implicit in particular attitudes only when confronted with transparent nonsense. Reasoned objections are not particularly valued. For example, Vaclav Smil's book on the transformation of world food production makes it clear that . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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